Tuesday Bird Droppings: The rejected qualifying offer edition

Hello, friends.

There are now 139 days remaining until Orioles Opening Day 2017.

That is still quite a lot of days, though we will at least have hot stove season kicking into full swing here very shortly. Now that the ten players, including the Orioles' Mark Trumbo, have chosen to either accept or reject the qualifying offers that were made from their teams, everyone knows who's coming back from last year's team and everyone knows who is even making it onto the free agent market.

Don't expect anyone to strike fast, least of all the Orioles, but still, it won't be long before names start coming off the board and the remaining market gets ever clearer and perhaps ever more dire for finding potential upgrades. There's just not going to be a lot out there, so maybe it's not the worst thing in the world that the Orioles don't have much money to spend, because if they did, they'd only be wasting it on guys who maybe aren't very good.

Which isn't going to make for a very interesting offseason for Orioles fans. Then again, when is it ever? Even in the years where they actually do stuff, they almost never do anything at all before January. For now, let's hit some links.

Around the blogO'sphere

Examining the market for Mark Trumbo as a free agent - Baltimore Sun
Who is out there other than the Orioles who might want to get their hands on the home run champion? The fellows over at the Sun take aim at the question.

Trumbo's decision and Rookie of the Year voting - School of Roch
We know Trumbo's decision. We also know that there was nothing to discuss about the Orioles and Rookie of the Year voting. No one got any votes. Don't expect anyone to get any votes next year either.

A look at some of the available corner outfielders - Steve Melewski
Melewski is here to run through the corner outfield options in free agency. He hits the higher end of the market, including Dexter Fowler, though I don't expect the Orioles to be serious players for most of these guys.

Minor League Podcast: Yacabonis talks pitching and the Arizona Fall League - BaltimoreBaseball.com
This is from Friday, but if you're interested in hearing about life in the Arizona Fall League from possible 40-man roster addition Jimmy Yacabonis, have at it. Don't go look up Yacabonis' stat line from the AFL, by the way.

Crystal Ball: Kevin Gausman, RHP, Baltimore Orioles - Minor League Ball
Fellow SB Nationer John Sickels peers into his crystal ball and sees a few more nice seasons coming for Kevin Gausman in an Orioles uniform. Here's hoping he's right about that.

Buck Showalter has case for AL MOY Award | MLB.com
The Manager of the Year award will be given out tonight. I'm thinking Cleveland's Terry Francona is going to win, but Buck surely earned some consideration with how the Orioles performed this year, as well.

Birthdays and anniversaries

On this day in 1983, Cal Ripken Jr. won the first of his two career MVP awards, making him the first-ever MLB player to win the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards in consecutive seasons. He had an even better season in 1984 and finished 27th in the voting.

Of all the players to play for the Orioles, only one has a birthday today. It's a current Oriole: Happy 24th to Dylan Bundy. May he be in for a good year.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Along with Bundy, your birthday buddies for today include: two-time British prime minister William Pitt the Elder (1708), The Mary Tyler Moore Show boss Ed Asner (1929), Homicide actor Yaphet Kotto (1937), wrestling's Macho Man Randy Savage (1952), Wu-Tang Clan's Ol' Dirty Bastard (1968), and actress Shailene Woodley (1991).

On this day in history...

In 1777, following 16 months of debate, the Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation.

In 1864, during the Civil War, Union General William T. Sherman burned the city of Atlanta, kicking off Sherman's March to the Sea.

In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt laid the cornerstone for the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC.

In 1969, between 250,000 and 500,000 protesters marched in Washington, DC to demonstrate against the Vietnam War.

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And that's the way it is in Birdland on November 15 - unless something changes later. Have a safe Tuesday. Go Orioles!